First Los Angeles teachers’ strike in 30 years starts soggy, in the rain

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Teachers and their supporters fill Grand Park during a rally after a tentative agreement wath LAUSD on smaller classes, new community schools, nurses and a raise.

(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

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Erin Payne holds her daughter Olivia Johnson during a rally at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles. LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner and United Teachers Los Angeles President Alex Caputo-Pearl announced a tentative deal today that could send teachers back to the classroom tomorrow, ending the first Los Angeles teachers strike in 30 years.

(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

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Maida Salido, Aurora Mireles and Stephanie Flores, left to right, celebrate during a rally at Grand Park in Los Angeles.

(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

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LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner and United Teachers Los Angeles President Alex Caputo-Pearl announced a tentative deal today that could send teachers back to the classroom tomorrow, ending the first Los Angeles teachers strike in 30 years.

(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

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Mallorie Evans, center, celebrates after an agreement between the teachers union and the LAUSD was reached Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Teachers celebrate after an agreement between the teachers union and the LAUSD was reached Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner, right, and United Teachers Los Angeles President Alex Caputo-Pearl, left, with Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a tentative deal that could send teachers back to the classroom, ending the first Los Angeles teachers strike in 30 years.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Thousands of teachers attend a UTLA rally in Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles on Friday.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Tom Morello, center, with guitar, is joined on stage by Perry Farrell, of Jane’s Addiction, and Wayne Kramer, with MC5, with tan jacket, as members of the UTLA Marching Band perform, “This Land is Your Land,” in Grand Park.

Thousands of educators with the United Teachers Los Angeles attend a rally on the fifth day of the teachers strike at Grand Park in front of City Hall in downtown Los Angeles.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Anavelia Valencia, left, and Courtney Moore, right, teachers at 99th Street Elementary school, perform a “rain dance” on the picket line in South Los Angeles.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Teachers picket in the middle of Sunset Blvd., at Gordon Street in Hollywood.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Antonio Solis, right, a teacher with Hollywood Primary Center, and Kevin Savage, center, a teacher at Vine Street Elementary, join fellow educators on the picket line along Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Louisa Stiles, 4, eats a slice of donated pizza on the picket line at Elysian Heights elementary school in Los Angeles.

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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School attendance fell again in the fourth day of the LAUSD teachers’ strike. Oscar Garcia, left, and Yacob Eyob work on their iPads at Burroughs Middle School.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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The hallways of Elysian Heights Elementary were uncrowded on Thursday; outside, teachers and parents picketed.

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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Westminster Elementary kindergarten teacher Jessica Dunn makes her case to passing motorists on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice on the third day of the LAUSD teachers’ strike.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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LAUSD teachers, parents and others protest in front of school board President Monica Garcia’s home in El Sereno.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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A police officer clears the road to allow a car to pass during a protest Wednesday night outside L.A. school board President Monica Garcia’s home.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Kindergarten teacher Beth Clark is among picketers on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice during Day 3 of the teachers’ strike Wednesday.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Student counselor Sandra Santacruz-Cervantes, center, pickets in a crosswalk outside Hollywood High School on Tuesday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Educators and supporters pack San Pedro Street in downtown Los Angeles at a rally outside the headquarters of the California Charter Schools Association.

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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Janette Duran, from left, Lauren Maucere and Stephanie Johnson, all specialists at Marlton School for the deaf, cheer at a rally at the California Charter Schools Assn. in downtown Los Angeles.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Student counselor Edwin Deleon, on a bicycle, joins parents, teachers and students in a crosswalk to picket outside Hollywood High School during the second day of the United Teachers Los Angeles strike.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Students from Main Street School hold signs as teachers and supporters make their way through downtown Los Angeles to attend a rally at the California Charter Schools Assn.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Parents, teachers and students picket outside Hollywood High School during the second day of the United Teachers Los Angeles strike.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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On the second day of teachers strike, the United Teachers Los Angeles rally outside California Charter Schools Assn. offices in Los Angeles.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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On the second day of teachers strike, the United Teachers Los Angeles rally outside California Charter Schools Assn. offices in Los Angeles.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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On the second day of teachers strike, the United Teachers Los Angeles rally outside California Charter Schools Assn. offices in Los Angeles.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Elisabeth Mitchell, right, a kindergarten teacher at the Accelerated Schools, a community of public charter schools in South Los Angeles, joins fellow teachers as they picket outside the school on the second day of the teachers strike.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Los Angeles Unified Supt. Austin Beutner addresses the media at LAUSD headquarters on the second day of the United Teachers Los Angeles strike.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Stephanie Grace, center, and Lilly Diaz, right, teachers at The Accelerated Schools, a community of public charter schools in South Los Angeles cheer to passing vehicles as they join fellow teachers as they picket outside the school on second day of the teachers strike.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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UTLA President Alex Caputo Pearl, center, joins teachers on the picket line at The Accelerated Schools in South Los Angeles.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Teachers at The Accelerated Schools, a community of public charter schools in South Los Angeles picket outside the school on second day of the teachers strike.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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UTLA teachers gather at city hall in downtown Los Angeles for a march and rally Monday, as they walked off the job in their first strike in 30 years.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Corianne Cook, a teacher from Webster Middle School with her children, Ryn, 9, left, and Liam, 12, march to LAUSD district headquarters during the first day of the UTLA strike in Los Angeles.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Mallorie Evans, center, an educational audiologist at Marlton School for the deaf, signs along with the speaker while Los Angeles Unified School District teachers and supporters gather at LAUSD headquarters in Los Angeles.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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UTLA teachers marched from downtown Los Angeles to LAUSD headquarters Monday, January 14, 2019, as they walked off the job in their first strike in 30 years.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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A supporter for the UTLA strike sports a Superman cape in Los Angeles.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Mari Enyart, 42, helps her son Was Enyart, 7, with school work while they spend their morning at a Starbucks Cafe in South Los Angeles on the first day of the strike.

(Silvia Razgova / For The Times)

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Reseda High students Roosevelt Jimenez, 17, left, and friend Kimberly Aquino, 17, right, sit in the school auditorium as UTLA teachers are out on strike in Reseda.

Teachers in a sea of umbrellas block 3rd and 4th streets over the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles as they marched to LAUSD Headquarters from City Hall on first day of the UTLA teachers strike.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Aleida Aguilar, a first grader at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles, is guided by her mother through the picket line formed by teachers on first day of the Los Angeles school teachers strike.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Counselor Leah Zeller leads teachers as they chant in the rain on the picket line at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Teachers in a sea of umbrellas march up 3rd street over the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles as they marched to LAUSD Headquarters.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl organizes Los Angeles Unified School District teachers before marching from City Hall to LAUSD headquarters in Los Angeles.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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Los Angeles School Superintendent Austin Beutner, right, with School Board President Monica Garcia, met with Geri Guzman, left, and family members of students before holding a press conference at LAUSD Headquarters.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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UTLA teachers arrive at Los Angeles to LAUSD headquarters near the 110 Freeway Monday, as they walked off the job in their first strike in 30 years.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Reseda High School vice principal Phyllis Castaneda clicks through a slide presentation in the campus auditorium as students at the school are in the school auditorium and gym as UTLA teachers are out on strike in Reseda.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Students picket at the entry of Carson Senior High School in Los Angeles.

(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

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Students at Reseda High are in the school gym as UTLA teachers are out on strike in Reseda.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Students join the picket line with striking teachers in Los Angeles.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Teachers march towards LAUSD district headquarters during the first day of the strike in Los Angeles.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Olivia Cali Gomez, 5, spends Monday morning learning what it means to go on strike, outside of Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Los Angeles Unified School District teachers and supporters march from City Hall to LAUSD headquarters in Los Angeles.

Teacher Shari Sakamoto, left, joins teachers marching on a picket line Monday morning at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles on first day of the strike.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Los Angeles Unified School District teachers and supporters gather at City Hall before marching to LAUSD headquarters in Los Angeles.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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99th Street Elementary School Principal Marissa Borden, 43, fist bumps 5-year-old Samantha Carlos, while she and her two brother arrive at school in South Los Angeles on the first day of the strike.

(Silvia Razgova / For The Times)

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UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl, left, kicks off the LAUSD teachers’ strike at John Marshall High School in Los Angeles. <strong>More: <a href="https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-los-angeles-teachers-strike-utla-president-20190114-story.html">UTLA president calls for more money for teachers ‘in a city rife with millionaires.'</a></strong>

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Members of UTLA picket in heavy rain outside 99th Street Elementary School in South Los Angeles.

(Silvia Razgova / For The Times)

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Students join the picket line in support of the UTLA strike in Los Angeles.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Mars Khan, 5, a transitional kindergarten student, carries a sign to support his mother, teacher Stefany Khan during a march in downtown Los Angeles.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Teachers wave at passing vehicles on the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles as they marched to LAUSD district headquarters.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Reseda High School students Jania Garcia, 16, left, and classmate Dennis Miguel, 16, work on a college prep app on laptops in the school gym in Reseda, Calif.

Los Angeles teachers went on strike Monday morning for the first time in 30 years and found themselves immediately picketing in the rain — with more downpours scheduled all week.

In a dry climate, you’d have to call that bad luck.

But it didn’t seem to dampen teachers’ enthusiasm.

They wore ponchos and held laminated signs and braced themselves for a long, cold first day.

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At Ramón C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts in downtown L.A., about a dozen picketers had gathered by 7 a.m., despite a steady drizzle. “Eye of the Tiger” blasted from a speaker. One picketer thumped on a drum and a passing driver honked to his beat.

Kelsey Cushing, 35, a chemistry teacher and chapter chair of the strike at the school, said she was expecting a couple hundred strikers at the location.

“What we’re fighting for is pretty important,” she said, “so people are willing to come out in the rain.”

Picketers wrapped up in ponchos walk along Eastern Ave, stopping at the intersection with Lombardy to chant: “We are the teachers, the mighty mighty teachers!” pic.twitter.com/RjQzZVQKog

At John Marshall High School in Los Feliz, teachers union President Alex Caputo-Pearl arrived to join the picket line in a red poncho before he held a news conference at the site.

Outside Elizabeth Learning Center in Cudahy, picketers at one of three entrances to the school wore red rain jackets or ponchos and rain boots and carried colorful umbrellas. About a dozen picketers chanted outside the school’s main entrance.

Cars whizzed by with drivers honking in support.

The National Weather Service predicted moderate showers through Tuesday morning with up to one inch of rain, and storms continuing throughout the week.